Revolution adds Tom Soehn to coaching staff

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Tom Soehn has been added to the New England Revolution’s coaching staff as an assistant coach and will join the Revolution technical staff in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., for the 2014 Player Combine that starts today.

Soehn has had a long association with Major League Soccer, first as a player, then assistant coach, then head coach and most recently as a team executive. He began his professional playing career in 1988.

Soehn has 10 years of MLS coaching experience as both a head coach and assistant, including three seasons in Chicago and six seasons at D.C. United.

“I’m very excited to add Tom to our staff,” Revolution head coach Jay Heaps said. “He brings a tremendous amount of experience in MLS – as a successful assistant coach, head coach and team executive – which will prove valuable to the Revolution. Tom was someone I very much respected as both a player and an opposing coach, and we’re excited to get him working with the team and the staff this weekend.”

“I’m excited to join the New England Revolution,” Soehn said. “I’m looking forward to getting to work with Jay and the staff and beginning our work for the 2014 season.”

Soehn began his coaching career as assistant coach with his hometown club, the Chicago Fire, where he was Bob Bradley’s first assistant in 2001 and 2002, and then served in the same capacity for Dave Sarachan in 2003. In 2004, Soehn moved to D.C., where he served as Peter Nowak’s first assistant, helping the club win MLS Cup 2004 and the 2006 Supporters Shield. After three seasons, Soehn was promoted to head coach in December 2006, and led D.C. to a second-straight Supporters Shield in 2007. In 2008, he guided D.C. to the U.S. Open Cup championship, and on to the group stage of the 2008-09 and 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League tournaments.

In January 2010, Soehn was appointed as Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s first director of soccer operations, where he developed and managed the club’s roster, as well as the team’s player scouting, identification and recruitment system as the club prepared to enter MLS in 2011. Soehn returned to the bench in late May 2011, and coached the team for the remainder of the club’s inaugural season after head coach Teitur Thordarson was released. In 2012, he returned to the front office as director of soccer operations, where he remained for the duration of the season, helping craft the Whitecaps team that qualified for the 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs – the first-ever Canadian team to reach the postseason.

Soehn’s time in professional soccer also included a 13-year (1988- 2000) playing career as a defender/midfielder in both indoor and outdoor professional leagues, including four seasons in MLS with the Dallas Burn (now known as FC Dallas) and Chicago Fire. After being selected in the second round (13th overall) of the MLS Inaugural Player Draft in February 1996, Soehn missed the league’s inaugural season because of injury before returning to action the next year, when Dallas won the 1997 U.S. Open Cup title.

In 1998, Soehn returned to his hometown to join expansion club Chicago following a midseason trade from Dallas. He was a key member of the Fire team that won both the MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup titles that year. That was followed by another Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title with Chicago in 2000.

Soehn’s playing career began in 1988 when he played both outdoor and indoor soccer. Before MLS, his playing career included time in the Major Indoor Soccer League (Wichita Wings – 1988-1992), Canadian Soccer League (Ottawa Intrepid – 1989, Hamilton Steelers – 1990), American Professional Soccer League (Colorado Foxes – 1992-94), National Professional Soccer League (Denver Thunder – 1992-93) and Continental Indoor Soccer League (Las Vegas Dustdevils – 1995). During his time with Colorado, Soehn helped the Foxes win two APSL championship titles (1992, 1993).

Soehn played collegiately at Western Illinois University from 1984 to 1987, scoring 51 points (19 goals, 18 assists). He remains in the school’s career top 20 scoring list, and was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame in 2003.